Miyo blinked in surprise as she looked at her surroundings.
"How did I get here?" she wondered aloud. She tried to remember, but realized she had no memory. Just nothing. She looked again at her surroundings.
She was on a small, hovering rock platform that tilted slightly with her movements. Far below, she could see the red earth, bare of any plants, only the same red earth and rock everywhere. No, not completely the same. Off in the distance she thought she could make out the shape of a dome. She squinted, but couldn't see it any better.
She shook her head as her thoughts wandered to the purpose of finding a way off the hovering rock. Nearby, about three or four feet away, was another platform, and another after that one. And there were some on her other side too. She could see now that the platforms made a sort of path across the sky. But which way to go? Did it matter? She turned and jumped onto the rock nearest her.
From one rock to another she jumped, enjoying every moment of it. Each time she landed, the rock under her feet would bounce, giving her a start to the next one. She found, with surprise, that she wasn't getting tired. At last she found solid ground and with one final leap, was at the end of the sky's path. On either side of her were now huge rocks, looming over her, each one the same red as everything else she had seen so far.
Suddenly, up ahead, she saw a figure dart behind one of the rock towers. Miyo ran toward it, curious. She saw it run to the shelter of another rock. This time she could see that the figure was a person near her own height. As she got closer, the person would move behind another rock. Miyo was quickly catching up though. In a last, desperate attempt to get away, the person started running flat out. No more hiding.
"Wait!" Miyo called out. The person stopped, apparently surprised.
"Don't come any closer!" The voice was that of a soft-spoken girl.
"Please, I just want to know where I am," said Miyo. The girl took a few steps toward her. Miyo saw with amusement that the girl's hair was pink, and cut somewhat like a boy's.
"You don't know where you are?" the girl asked.
"No. I've never been here before. Or at least I don't think I have. I can't remember anything."
The girl's eyes widened. She stopped a few feet in front of Miyo.
"This," she said with a sweep of her arm, "is Lyoko."
"Lyoko," Miyo repeated.
The girl nodded. "And I am Aelita."
"I'm Miyo, Aelita." She held out a hand.
Aelita blinked, then shook her hand awkwardly, as though she wasn't sure that was what she was expected to do.
"You,... you are human?" Aelita asked after a moment.
"Of course!" said Miyo, baffled by her question.
"Oh, naturally. It's just that, well, everyone scans in differently..."
"Scans in?"
"Yes, that's how anyone gets here, except me. I live here."
"But what do you mean 'scan in differently'?"
"You haven't seen yourself?"
"There's not exactly a mirror anywhere around here."
"True, but... Follow me." Aelita started running.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"Come on, Miyo!"
Miyo ran after her. A few minutes later, they stopped beside a large, metallic-looking pool. Miyo looked in, and gasped. Even though she couldn't remember what she had looked like before, she knew instantly that it wasn't like this. Her hair was pulled into dozens of tiny purple braids that hung down to her shoulders. Her eyes, too, were purple. What really caught her attention, though, were the large silver wings coming out from her back.
"Are those mine?" she breathed. Aelita nodded.
Miyo concentrated on the wings and noticed for the first time that she could feel a faint breeze blowing across them. She tested the wings, folding them, and then spreading them out again. Would they fly, though? She tried flapping them. A wave of exhilaration swept over her as she slowly lifted into the air. Below, Aelita clapped her hands excitedly and did some sort of little dance.